Street-car advertising device.



G. VAN D. HILL.

STREET GAR ADVERTISING DEVICE APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25, 1910.

1,020,351 Patented Mar. 12, 1912.

mT/vEssEs INVENTO CHARLES VAN DYKE HILL, OF ST. LQUIS, MISSOURI.

STREET-CAR ADVERTISING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 12,1912.

Application filed November 25, 1910. Serial Ito 594,148.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES VAN DYKE HILL, a. citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Street- 'Car Advertising Devices, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference bein had to the accompanying drawings, fbrming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating my improved advertising device in position in a street car; and Fig. 2 is a detail view illustrating the holder or support for the detachable cards and a block or pad of the detachable cards. Fig. 3 is a modified form of the holder or support and a block or pad of the detachable cards.

This invention relates to advertising devices and particularly to suchdevices as I used in street cars.

It consists in providing an inclined back- 26. ing or support to the inclined face of which is secured a block or pad of detachable cards. These are preferably secured in such manner that they can be renewed whenexhausted. The backing or support can either A be secured in position upon the. large advertising cards commonly used in street cars andwhich, in some instances, are inclined or curved tov fit the curvature of the roof, or the said backing or support maybe secured 85 to av'ertical card or vertical wall, its inclined face constituting an overhan mg wall upon which is a block or pad 0% smaller cards or leaflets, preferably containing advertising matter relating to the subject ad- 40 vertised on the larger card, said block or pad'when in position being disposed at an angle so that at least one edge or corner of these detachable cards will swing outwardly by gravity, to be grasped and detached by 46 a person desiring to take one. I I am aware that it is common to employ lar e advertising cards in street cars mounted'in moldings constituting racks above the windows on the sides and ends of the car, which cards contain printed matter relating in a general way to the article or thing being advertised, the size of type used on these large cards of necessity being large enough to be easily read at a distance. This method of advertising has not proven entirely satisfactory, as it does not enable the advertiser to see the direct returns from such advertisement; nor does it give the public detailed information concerning the article or thing advertised. By the use of small detachable cards, which may be in the form and size of post cards,'-which may be stam ed and mailed by the person taking one,-1t is possible for the public, or the person detaching one of said cards, to obtain detailed information concerning the article or thing advertised, such as may be contained in a relatively longer statement in small type on a card of the above-mentioned size. It also enables the advertiser to get better results fromhis advertisement and to trace returns from the same.

In the drawings, 1 designates the side wall of the car in which are located the usual windows, and 2 isthe curved wall constitutin the roof which joins the backing 3 containing the deck windows or ventilators 4. Arranged on the ,inner face of the curved wall 2, adjacent the point where the same joins 'the side wall 1, and extending longitudinally the car, is a molding strip 5, in the top of which is formed a continuous groove. Arranged near the upper edge of the curved wall 2 and lying parallel with the strip 5,-

is amolding strip 6, also having a contlnuous groove in its.under side.

7 indicates the usual advertising cards which are preferably formed of heavy cardboard of such height that they will fit between the strips 5 and 6 with their top and bottom edges in the grooves of said strips. Narrow strips 8, of thin resilient metal, overlie the meeting ends of the cards 7, and the ends of said strips 8 fit in the grooves in the strips 5 and 6. The resiliency of these strips 8 forces the ends of the cards 7 against the wall 2, and thus, when the cards are properly positioned, they form a smooth, continuous surface between the strips 5 and 6 and extend from one end of the wall to the other. These cards 7 contain printed matter and cuts intended to attract the attention of the occupants of the car. It is also usual, in some cars, to have spaces in the ends of the car for the purpose of receiving vertically disposed advertising cards, and, in some instances, the spaces along the sides of the car, depending upon the construction of the car, also provide for the reception of advertising cards which are vertically disposed. Attached to the card 7, which, in this casey.

is shown as curved" or inclined,or said card 7 may be vertically disposed or attached directly to the wall of the car itself-45 a backing or support preferably made of sheet metal and bent so as to form attaching flanges 9 through which screws, eyelets 'or other fastening devices 10 may be passed to secure said backing or support in position. This backing or support isprovided with an inclined front wall 10,.which, as shown, is provided with slits or kerfs 11 and 12.

13 indicates a block or pad of detachable cards having a relatively stifiback sheet 14 provided with tongues 15 and 16 designed to fit into the slits 11 and 12 respectively. This block or pad of detachable cards is preferably held together at the top by means of an adhesive strip 13 and at one sidepreferably the right-by a similar adhesive strip 13". To insert the block or pad in position, it is only necessary to adjust the tongues 15 and 16 in their respective slits 11 and 12,

'which tongues. are long enough to engage the card or wall to which the inclined pad supportis secured, and when in engagement with said back wall said tongues will be forced downwardly and along said wall so as to cause the tongues to bend and in this manner hold the stifl' backing sheet of the at an incline an pad firmly in position. When the pad is thus secured in (place, the same is arranged overhangs in such a manner that gravitytends to cause one edge or corner of the detachable card to swing outwardly in position to be readily grasped and detached. When the pad of detachable cards is exhausted, the backing sheet thereof may be removed and a new pad or block of detachable cards arranged in position.

I do not wish to be understood as confining myself to the particular way hereinabove described for securing the block or pad of detachable cards to its inclined sup port, as there are a number'of ways in which this can be done, I having illustrated one of these in Fig- 3, wherein theinclined backing or support for the block or pad of cards is provided with guiding tongues orstrips 17 at its sides and abot-tom supporting projection 18. lf'desired, the stifl backing strip 19 of the block or pad may extend beyond the side edges of the block or pad, as shown in this figure, so as to engage the tongue 17 and rest upon the tongue 18. The tongue 20 may also be employed to fold down over th pad and hold it in position.

I claim:

In an advertising device of the character.

described, the combination of an inclined wall or support, of a pad or block of detachable cards or leaflets and means for securing said cards or leaflets in position there- "on whereby a portion of said cards or leaflets, may swingaway by gravity so as to be readily grasped and detached.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 22nd day of November, 1910.

CHARLES VAN DYKE HILL. Witnesses:

M. P. SMITH, ALMA GEBHART. 

